Watco names director of engineering/project management

Watco Companies has hired Drew White as director of engineering for project management. In this position, White will report to Ron Close, senior vice president of supply chain management and become a team member of the Project Management Team.

White will be responsible for evaluating and managing new and existing capital projects. He brings with him Class 1 railroad experience stemming from various roles within the engineering department of BNSF. As district roadmaster in Tulsa, Okla., White was responsible for maintaining the regional capital budget along with all oper¬ating expenses. During this time, he was able to bring improved track velocity and decrease track-caused derailments by 50 percnet, both on the mainline and within the terminal rail facilities.

Prior to joining Watco, White was the manager of the Illinois High Speed Rail Program. He served as project lead for the $1.4-billion, federally-funded Illinois Department of Transportation program. In this position, he was responsible for upgrading track, signal and rolling stock on a 245-mile-long section of Union Pacific line. His day-to-day role was to handle Class 1 coordination, consultant fee negotiations within the project and full project oversight from beginning to end.